The science of glass container manufacture is currently served by the so-called individual section or IS machine. Such machines include a plurality of separate or individual manufacturing sections, each of which has a multiplicity of operating mechanisms for converting one or more charges or gobs of molten glass into hollow glass containers and transferring the containers through successive stages of the machine section. In general, an IS machine system includes a source of glass with a control tube and a needle mechanism for generating one or more streams of molten glass, a shear mechanism for cutting the molten glass into individual gobs, and a gob distributor for distributing the individual gobs among the individual machine sections. Each machine section includes one or more blank molds in which a glass gob is initially formed in a blowing or pressing operation, one or more invert arms for transferring the blanks to blow molds in which the containers are blown to final form, a take-out mechanism for removing the formed containers onto a deadplate, and a sweepout mechanism for transferring molded containers from the deadplate onto a machine conveyor. The conveyor receives containers from all sections of the IS machine and conveys the containers to a loader for transfer to an annealing lehr. Operating mechanisms in each section also provide for closure of mold halves, movement of baffles and blow nozzles, control of cooling wind, etc. U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,544 includes a background discussion of the art of both “blow and blow” and “press and blow” glassware forming processes, and discusses an electropneumatic individual section machine adapted for use in either process.
The operating mechanisms of each machine section were initially operated by pneumatic valves carried by a valve block and responsive to cams mounted on a timing shaft coupled to the machine. Synchronism among the mechanisms within each section, and among the various sections of the machine, was therefore controlled by the timing shaft and the valve drive cams. U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,134 discloses a control arrangement in which a machine supervisory computer (MSC) is connected to a plurality of individual section computers (ISCs), each associated with a corresponding section of the IS machine. Each individual section computer is connected through an associated section operator console (SOC) to solenoid valves in an electropneumatic valve block, which are individually responsive to electronic valve control signals from the section computer and operator console for controlling operation of the associated section operating mechanisms. A timing pulse generator is connected to the machine supervisory computer and to the individual section computers for synchronizing operation within and among the individual sections. The individual section computer and the section operator console illustrated in the noted patent were subsequently combined in a computerized section operator console (COM-SOC, a trademark of applicant's assignee).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,580,366 and 5,624,473 disclose an automated glassware manufacturing system in which a forming supervisory computer (FSC) is connected by an ethernet bus to a plurality of computerized section operator consoles (COM-SOCs). Each COM-SOC is connected by a bitbus to an associated intelligent control output module (ICOM). In commercial applications, this connection is by a serial data bitbus. Each ICOM has outputs connected to associated valve blocks for operating pneumatically driven glassware forming mechanisms in the associated machine section. Each COM-SOC and ICOM also receive input from a master timing module for coordinating operation of the various machine sections, and each ICOM unit receives emergency and program stop inputs for terminating machine operation.
It has also been proposed to employ electrically driven operating mechanisms in glass machine systems, particularly in the gob delivery (flow control tube, needles, gob shear and gob distributor) and ware conveyor (machine conveyor, cross-conveyor, radial transfer conveyor and lehr loader) ends of the machine system. It has also been proposed to employ electrically servo-driven operating mechanisms for the invert arm, take-out tongs and sweepout mechanism of each machine section. In glassware machine systems that combine electrically and pneumatically driven operation, the electrical operating mechanisms are driven by stand-alone controllers that receive the same timing signals as are provided to the COM-SOC units to coordinate operation of all mechanisms, but are otherwise not connected to the COM-SOC units or the forming supervisory computer.
In distributed glassware forming machine system control arrangements of the type discussed above, there is generally an excess of computing power and electronic memory over and above what is needed for normal operation of the system. Furthermore, to the extent that operation controllers are stand-alone units, they do not provide information feedback to a forming supervisory computer for desired quality and cost control purposes. It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a glassware forming machine control system that is integrated in the sense that the control electronics for all of the system operating mechanisms are interconnected to each other for optimum coordination and control purposes, and preferably are also connected to a forming supervisory computer for downloading new or revised control information to the various controllers and uploading operating information, as needed for information, quality or cost control purposes.